A Very Tozer Christmas

Posted on by Michele Morin

My growing-up Christmases were heavy on Santa Claus and Frosty the Snowman.  Linus’s hushed tones filled me in on the true meaning of Christmas via our first colored t.v., but I wanted that story to take center stage for my own children.  The celebration of Advent has been key for our family in spreading out the teaching, the excitement, the special family activities, and the wonder of the incarnation over the entire month of December.

This year, for our daily Advent devotional, we are gathering around From Heaven, a 28-Day Advent collection compiled from the sermons, books, and editorials of beloved 20th century pastor and writer, A.W. Tozer.  As we light the candles and sing the carols, we will be savoring the familiar story against the backdrop of Tozer’s unique insights:

On the Incarnation

“Nobody has ever seen God, but when Jesus Christ came He showed us what God is like.”

“The Word became flesh . . .What we have here is one of the darkest mysteries of human thought:  How the Deity could cross the wide yawning gulf that separates what is God from what is not God.”

On the Meaning of Christmas

“It does seem strange that so many persons become excited about Christmas and so few stop to inquire into its meaning, but I suppose this odd phenomenon is quite in harmony with our unfortunate human habit of magnifying trivialities and ignoring matters of greatest import.”

On the Gospel

“If the tender yearning is gone from the advent hope today there must be a reason for it:  [we] emphasize the utility of the cross rather than the beauty of the One who died on it. . . What He did for me seems to be more important than what He is to me.”

On Jesus’ Mission

“It could have been very easy for God to have loved us and never told us.  God could have been merciful toward us and never revealed it. . . . The eternal Son came to tell us what the silence never told us. He came to tell us that God cares and God loves and God has a plan and God’s carrying out that plan.”

On Christ’s Second Advent

“We live between two mighty events — that of His incarnation, death, and resurrection, and that of His ultimate appearing and the glorification of those He died to save.  This is the interim time for the saints — but it is not a vacuum.  He has given us much to do, and He asks for our faithfulness.”

Blessings to you at the beginning of this season of advent as we celebrate Jesus’ coming to Earth From Heaven — and as we anticipate “the appearing of Jesus Christ: whom having not seen, we love; in whom, though now we see Him not, yet believing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory,” (I Peter 1:7,8).

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This book was provided by Moody Publishers in exchange for my review.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a Bible teacher, writer, reader, and gardener committed to the truth that women can become confident Christ-followers and students of God's Word. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty-plus years, and together they have four sons, four daughters-in-love, and six adorable grandchildren. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks, and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

50 thoughts on “A Very Tozer Christmas”

  1. Michele, thank you the reminder and encouragement that keeping the sacred in Christmas requires thoughtful, prayerful, deliberate action. On this side of youth, I praise God for humble beginnings and godly parents that infused Advent with faith and hope and longing for Jesus. Blessings for your day

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  2. Sounds like a delightful and deep Advent devotional. I’m especially convicted by the paragraph about being so focused on what God has done for us that we miss who He is too us and His beauty!

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  3. I have never heard of this devotional, but I’m loving the sound of it … and the fact that A.W. Tozer wrote it, of course! Going to get this for the Mr. and I as we prepare our hearts for Christmas!

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    1. We’re really enjoying it. The publisher has lifted portions from sermons and books that are so uniquely insightful. My husband is planning to use quote from it for the church bulletin this month!

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  5. Thanks for telling us about this book, Michele … I’m a huge Tozer fan and can’t wait to grab hold of this book … even if only to tuck it away for next year.

    Thanks for speaking into my Advent reading, friend …

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  6. This sounds like such a great devotional. I didn’t know Tozer had this. Like you, I grew up with Santa, not Advent, so I tried to make it different with my own kids. Blessings to you, Michele!

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  10. This looks like a great advent devotional! I am currently reading Tozer’s The Pursuit of God and I love it. Thanks for sharing, I will be checking out this book soon.

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  11. Tozer is a favorite of mine. I grew up with a combination of Santa and Christ – if that can even be done – Santa was a pretend thing, Jesus gave my father his job and paychecks so we could have the presents. We tried this with our son until he started asking questions… we gave up on anything Santa. I’m going to have to add this book to my cart, thanks for sharing the review with Thankful Thursdays.

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  13. I love the quotes from Tozer! What a different perspective on our version of Christmas. I struggle with this season because we say it’s all about Jesus coming to earth, but most of our actions reflect something else entirely. Thanks for sharing!

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  16. The quote for “On the Meaning of Christmas” is so true! This sounds like a great resource to keep us focused on Christ throughout Advent–something we make a priority in my house. Perhaps we will include it in our celebration next year.

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  18. I was introduced to Tozer’s writings at Bible College. Thanks for sharing such a great Advent book. I didn’t know he had one. It’s expensive to read your posts. They cause me to go out and buy books 🙂
    ~Sherry Stahl
    xoxo

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      1. This is the power of the published word. It can live on beyond your life and affect people for generations you never could meet. Makes me want to make sure I write what HE wants. Interesting about Tozer and us Michele…Tozer was born in Pennsylvania and passed on into glory in Toronto, Canada.

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  19. Michele,
    Love these quotes. I am working through Pursuit of God by Tozer and loving it. Also working on a prayer a day for #DressforDunamis. Finding so much in Scripture I didn’t know before.
    Blessings,
    Janis

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  20. I’m always looking for ways to dig deeper into Advent. I have not read any of Tozer’s work before but I am intrigued by what he says about Jesus mission and the second Advent. The latter reminds of NT Wright’s theme in Simply Good News. Praying you find that this Advent season is leading you and your family to the God who loves you so much.

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  28. “It does seem strange that so many persons become excited about Christmas and so few stop to inquire into its meaning, but I suppose this odd phenomenon is quite in harmony with our unfortunate human habit of magnifying trivialities and ignoring matters of greatest import.” I had never read this but I love it!!!

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